


Oh, will you take me home?

by shukagari



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Some bullying, also it's not as dark as the summary makes it out to be, but with some angst, childhood and up to 17, i couldn't think of a better one lmao, i have edited this 1000 times and added like 500 more words since i posted this lol, kind of, neither of them bully each other btw, the angst turns into fluff, there is a rude joke though btw, this is mainly fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-20
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-09 16:04:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6913936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shukagari/pseuds/shukagari
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kyoutani Kentarou moves into Yahaba Shigeru's street when they are both thirteen, bordering on fourteen. It does not start off well.<br/>--<br/>“Do you think Kyoutani-kun has friends?” Yahaba asks his mother, as slyly as he can, one evening at the dinner table. </p><p>(Could you take care of a broken soul? Will you hold me now? Oh, will you take me home?)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Oh, will you take me home?

**Author's Note:**

> So instead of writing the third chapter to my iwaoi fic I wrote this :) and I had fun doing it :) lmao I will hopefully have the next chapter up, maybe not next week as I have a tma due but definitely the one after (might even be next week, depends how much of an asshole to myself and my studies I decide to be :)) 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this!!!!! 
> 
> The bullying thing is more like a mob mentality thing btw, the bullying happens because of an assumption based on appearance and then because the first person reacts negatively to it, then everyone falls that way. It is mostly fluff though. I will say this is probably very au, like does canon even matter? lmao

Kyoutani Kentarou moves into Yahaba Shigeru's street when they are both thirteen, bordering on fourteen. 

The first alarm given to the neighbourhood about their impending new neighbours comes when a large moving van and a pack of moving men come trundling up the street. It parks in front of a house that had been vacant for many years after the old owner died (and had been speculated to be haunted as is the usual thought when a child comes across an abandoned place), and then the moving men neatly file out and set to work. 

The family make their own appearance a few moments after the moving van; they swerve into the street in an old pick-up truck driven by Kyoutani's uncle, who Yahaba had at first mistaken for his father, who had just come up to help with the move and make sure his sister and her son were settled. Kyoutani's mother sits in the passenger seat, her hands tightening on her purse as she takes in the crowd of her curious neighbours who have come out to greet them. The first glimpse Yahaba gets of Kyoutani is the back of his head, his face buried in his golden retriever's fur, and his hands twitching nervously on the dog's back. 

Yahaba stands at the front of the bunch of curious neighbours, his mother's hand nestled in his hair, and his eyes widen in curiosity as he watches the new boy step out of the truck, his golden retriever leaping out after him and sniffing at the air in interest. 

Kyoutani Kentarou is enough of an oddity on sight to cause a few nervous mutterings amongst the adults, although only among the more conservative ones, and an excited explosion of conversation amongst the kids as they all begin talking loudly and sending him secretive glances as soon as his conversed toe touches the ground. He's tall for a thirteen year old, although Yahaba is pleased to note that he is taller, with bleached blond hair and dark eyes. Yahaba can already hear a few parents, the ones more prone to over-protectiveness and worrying, whispering to their children to keep clear of him; which really only serves to make Yahaba's interest grow and he considers the boy carefully, wondering what it is exactly that has made them pick him as a possible threat.

He watches as Kyoutani, whose name he does not yet know but will later come to find out through street gossip, looks up at his new house. Kyoutani's lips struggle to contain either a smile or a scowl before they thin out into an emotionless line, and then he glances at the crowd of gathered neighbours.

One glance from Kyoutani is enough to send a ripple of uncertainty and fear through the younger and more susceptible audience; it is also enough to make Yahaba grin in delight. Kyoutani stares at them all a moment longer, his eyes passing through them, and then they land on Yahaba and his delighted smile, he pauses for a moment, considers him, and they both simply stare at each other. After a moment, Kyoutani is the first to turn away. Yahaba watches as he marches silently and smartly into his house, shutting the door tightly behind him and his dog who'd followed him closely from the car to the house. 

Kyoutani's mother then nervously comes forward and addresses the crowd, she thanks them for coming with the other usual pleasantries and then heads for the house herself (unable to hide her enthusiasm to get away in the quickness of her step). Yahaba's mother ruffles his hair and they head back to their own home.

The next day a rumour mill has already been set up amongst the kids on the street; children can often be cruel and when something new and interesting steps into their life, they latch onto it in whatever way they want. Unfortunately for Kyoutani, negative rumours due to his appearance seem to be the new craze. Yahaba doesn't actively participate in spreading them or sharing his ideas (although he thinks they'd be a lot more accurate), but he does listen with a particular kind of interest – hoping for a slice of the truth.

'I hear Kyoutani-kun is part of a gang', 'At 13? he must be rough', 'I hear they had to move because he was expelled from his last school', 'I hear he picks a fight with anyone who looks his way', they whisper, and look nervously up at his house. Yahaba takes particular fault with the last one because fighting with anyone who looks his way must be _tiring_ , and then he quietly entertains the idea. No wonder Kyoutani has massive dark circles beneath his eyes if he's just fighting _everyone_ , Yahaba jokingly decides. Yahaba doesn't bother wondering how they discovered his age and name – the three older girls who set themselves up at the end of cul-de-sack always seem to be in the know – he's just glad he knows now too. 

The most absurd rumour, and one he happily repeats to his mother, comes about when the kids on the street catch sight of a small, old lady tottering up the drive of the Kyoutani residence. The most immediate and popular speculation to this is that Kyoutani is bribing her for all she's worth – Yahaba almost kills himself laughing when it's discovered she's Kyoutani's grandmother. 

Yahaba is old enough, and wise enough as he likes to say, to know when some of the rumours are just plain, towering and absolutely ridiculous lies – the kids spreading them probably know it, they just take pleasure in being the centre of attention and part of the group by spreading them; it's something Yahaba knows, and something Kyoutani has always been used to. 

-

Kyoutani doesn’t appear in the street again until two days later, and when he does he’s greeted by locking doors as kids race back into the safety of their homes, laughing as they go. 

Yahaba sits in his bedroom, chin propped in his palm, pencil tapping his homework as he stares out the window at Kyoutani bouncing a basketball by himself, his lips pursed in thought. 

“Why don’t you join him?” His mother asks when she comes into his room, without knocking, to drop off his washing. 

“Aren’t you worried he’ll hit me?” He asks, still beating out a steady tune with his pencil. 

He hears her straightening his bed sheets, 'If he hits you, you’ll deserve it,’ she says and he can hear the smile in her voice. 

Yahaba swivels in his chair to look at her, and smiles faux-sweetly, “Thanks, _mum_ ,” he says sarcastically.

“You’re welcome,” she says, patting his head affectionately before she exits the room.

Yahaba turns back to the window and watches Kyoutani a moment longer, he feels himself smile when the ball bounces off Kyoutani’s foot and he has to race across the manicured front lawns to catch it (he wonders how many parents are digging their nails into their armchairs at the sight which only makes him smile wider), before he sighs quietly and turns back to his homework.  
-  
Kyoutani comes out the next night, and the same thing happens again - the doors lock in his face. This time he sits on the curb until dark, throwing a tennis ball to his golden retriever. Yahaba watches from his room, chewing idly on his pen and holding his chin in his palm all the while.  
-

The next evening, without putting much thought into it, Yahaba waits out for Kyoutani. He sits in his front garden watching the kids ride up and down the street on their bikes and scooters - he catches sight of Kyoutani sullenly watching from his living room window sometimes, but other than that he doesn’t make an appearance outside.

Yahaba is left feeling particularly disappointed when he closes his front door behind him later that evening, and he isn't exactly sure why.

“Did you have fun?” His mother asks, poking her head out from the living room. 

He lies and says, “yes,” and wonders if that is what Kyoutani says when his mother asks.  
\- 

The next day, Yahaba watches as Kyoutani quietly steals out into the night, well after everyone is tucked into their houses, with his golden retriever trotting along happily at his side.  
-  
“Do you think Kyoutani-kun has friends?” He asks his mother, as slyly as he can, one evening at the dinner table. 

She looks up at him from where she’s dishing out the salad, “I don’t know,” she says slowly, “why don’t you ask him?”.

He splutters at her, face red, “I can’t just ask him if he has friends!” he cries indignantly.

“Why not?” She asks. 

Yahaba scrunches up his eyebrows in confusion.“Well,” he starts, “it’d be rude, wouldn’t it?”. 

She shrugs her shoulders, “I suppose, but you could still try to talk to him.” 

“Suppose so,” he mutters, and then begins to desperately shovel salad into his mouth to avoid any more conversation about Kyoutani.  


-

The first time Yahaba actually talks to him is three weeks after the Kyoutani's had moved in. The conversation goes differently to how he’d imagined (he’d imagined one where they were both at _least_ planted firmly on the ground), and very differently to how some parents in the neighbourhoods worries go (he’s sure there’s a lot of malicious laughter and crying in those - even if Kyoutani doesn’t seem the type to laugh, even maliciously. Yahaba will later come to find out that he does laugh, although they are often easy to miss if you are not as attuned to the Kyoutani wavelength like Yahaba is, but sometimes they are belly laughs, which have his eyes crinkling and lips curling into wide smiles. Yahaba is very pleased to say he only does them when they are alone together).  


It’s a hot summer day on the day of their first actual meeting, Yahaba had decided to walk to his local convenience store and buy himself an ice cream - as is the usual inclination when confronted with a hot day and one is not rich enough to afford a pool, or a trip to the next town over where there is a pool, so he has to make do. 

On his way home, as he happily licks at his ice cream, Yahaba hears a gentle voice from the sky ask,“Can you get my mum please?”. Yahaba startles, and looks up.

He is greeted by a sweaty-faced Kyoutani clutching onto a not so steady looking branch with both his arms and legs, looking startlingly like a koala. 

“Oh, it’s you,” Kyoutani says, sounding quite calm and collected, not at all like he is in full panic mode which Yahaba believes his situation should entail (although he does look a little red in the face. Tears? Yahaba wonders, and quickly rules out). 

“Yes, it’s me,” Yahaba replies, then he grins, “What do you need?” he asks, quite happy to be of use. 

Kyoutani let’s go of the branch with one hand (Yahaba’s heart skips a nervous beat) to scratch at the embarrassed blush on his cheek, “I’m stuck, could you get my mum please?” He asks again. 

Instead of leaving to do just that Yahaba asks, “How about I help you down?”. 

Kyoutani scrunches up his nose, clearly not liking this suggestion, but he sighs as if he’s doing Yahaba a favour, “Fine,” he says. 

“Let me just get rid of my ice cream first,” Yahaba says, and plops himself down at the base of the tree. 

“Are you being serious?’ Kyoutani asks, a slight whine now in his voice.

“Yes, I walked all that way out in this heat to get it, so I’m finishing it,” Yahaba says, starting on the last few bites of his cone. “I’m sorry but you and your problems will have to wait, don't be inconsiderate.”

“Inconsiderate?! I’m going to fall before you’ve even finished your ice cream,” Kyoutani grunts, and shuffles himself about on his branch - with all his shuffling and moving about, Kyoutani accidentally knocks a budding acorn from its stem, it clings on briefly, then topples and begins to fall at a great speed, picking up as it goes, straight for Yahaba's unsuspecting head. When it reaches its mark, it does so with a loud thump, and Yahaba ends up dropping the rest of his ice cream into his lap in fright with a tiny squeal. 

He sits frozen in surprise for a moment, staring wide-eyed at the crumbled, melting ice cream in his lap, before a quiet snort of laughter from above draws him back to the situation. Yahaba glares up at him, “You think that’s funny?” He asks.

“Yes,” Kyoutani says, and then he snorts again – a small smile twinges at his lips. 

Yahaba frowns and shrugs his shoulders, feigning indifference, “Maybe I’ll just go home then, maybe I’ll just leave you stuck up in the tree since you find this so funny,” and he begins to move away. 

Kyoutani sobers up immediately and then let’s out a long, tired sigh, “Fine,” he says, “I didn’t find it funny at all.”

Yahaba smiles, back to full on sweetness, “That’s better,” he says, and then he begins to scale the tree himself.

“What are you doing?!” Kyoutani cries, finally sounding like he’s panicking as his branch begins to shake violently. 

“Helping you down, obviously,” Yahaba says with a roll of his eyes, he reaches out and grabs Kyoutani’s ankle. “Give me your foot,” he orders instead of asking. 

“No!” Kyoutani yells, trying to shake him off, “You are trying to make me fall!”. 

“No,” Yahaba says, now having his turn to sigh, “I’m going to take your foot and guide it to a good foothold, and then you can climb down”. 

“Oh,” is all Kyoutani says to this, and he lets him take it.

Yahaba guides his foot to a strong looking juncture of two branches, he places Kyoutani's foot there then taps his ankle. “You can start climbing now,” he says, and then begins climbing down himself. 

Kyoutani hesitates a moment, still a bit distrustful, and then he puts pressure on the branches and sighs in relief. “Thanks,” he murmurs and Yahaba is so surprised by it he stops moving, and stares at a big black beetle crawling up the tree next to his face. 

This is when the fateful fall happens.

It all happens in slow-motion. Kyoutani slips, Yahaba blinks up in surprise when he hears Kyoutani's shriek of terror and he sees nothing but his impending doom racing towards him. It is a desperate scramble to try and reach the ground before it happens, but even with all his efforts it happens anyway. Kyoutani’s ass comes crashing down into Yahaba’s face and they drop to the ground at high speed, both screeching all the way.

Luckily for them they land on a soft bed of grass, and even luckier still they were almost to the ground at the time of impact - for Yahaba, it had almost been like falling backwards due to taking an ass to the face. Yahaba still complains, a lot, even if it didn’t really hurt. 

He shoves Kyoutani off him, sits up and splutters, “What was that for?!”. 

“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Kyoutani cries indignantly, looking very red in the face, “it was an accident”.

Yahaba folds his arms, and pouts at him, “It still hurt, even if it was an accident”. 

“I’m sorry,” Kyoutani mumbles and looks away, glaring at the setting sun. 

Yahaba feels kind of bad, so he pats him on the back and smiles honestly when Kyoutani looks over at him, 'It’s okay,’ he says, and he means it. He nods back to the tree, 'What were you even doing up there?’.

Kyoutani gets redder still, tucks his chin into his chest, and mumbles, “I was helping a cat”. 

“What?” Yahaba asks. 

“You heard me,” Kyoutani mutters, twisting his hands in his lap. 

“I know, I just found it hard to believe,” Yahaba replies. 

“With what everyone says about me?” Kyoutani spits, his face twisting up into an ugly sneer. 

Yahaba shrugs, “I guess so,” he says, “although I don’t really listen to them, most of the rumours are really stupid,” he snorts.

“Oh, really?” Kyoutani says, sounding surprised and a little bit pleased.

“There's one particularly popular rumour that you are in a gang,” Yahaba laughs, and pokes Kyoutani's arm, feeling a lot of muscle there for an almost fourteen year old (no wonder he was able to cling onto that branch for so long). 

“I’m not part of a gang,” Kyoutani grouches, wrinkling his nose, “I don’t know any gangs that would accept a thirteen year old”. 

“Oh, so if you found one you’d join?” Yahaba asks, his lips pulling up into an easy grin.

“No!” Kyoutani splutters, and Yahaba can’t help but laugh. 

“I was just kidding,” he says, and stands up - he reaches a hand down for Kyoutani and is a little surprised when he takes it, although he's even more surprised by how soft Kyoutani's hand is. 

They walk home together, laughing (mostly on Yahaba's side) and trying to push one another of the pavement all the way – both of their mother's watch them arrive back into the street together and they smile fondly, happy they are making friends.  


(It may not be the most conventional of first meetings, but Yahaba is always incredibly happy to bring it up whenever people ask how they met. 'This brave young hero,' he'd say, waving a hand at Kyoutani, 'was saving a cat from a tree when he decided it'd make his day to stick his flat, sweaty ass in poor innocent me's passing face-' Kyoutani would usually interrupt at this point - most likely spurred on to do this when Yahaba referred to himself as _innocent _-, either by hitting him or with a quiet murmur of, 'You like it when I do that now,' which would have everyone involved blushing up to the roots of their hair and effectively shut the story down).__

-

The next night Kyoutani comes out, everyone commits to their disappearing act again. Yahaba is there to see the disappointment and hurt settle on Kyoutani’s face when he thinks he’s alone first-hand.

“Is that a new ball?” Yahaba asks, stepping out from behind his front door and Kyoutani jumps so hard Yahaba can’t help but snicker. 

Kyoutani blinks over at him, his mouth slightly open, “Yeah, it’s a volleyball,” he says. 

“Show me how to play,” Yahaba says, rolling up his sleeves. 

It is the beginning of volleyball, and a beautiful friendship.  
– 

At the end of their thirteenth year a little girl comes up to Kyoutani and boldly tells him she's not scared of him at all, before getting him to teach her how to spike a ball and soon he forms a little volleyball team. Kyoutani is good with kids, it's adults and people his own age he can't deal with so well; with all their rules and need for polite conversation. Yahaba sometimes watches from his window, a fond smile on his face, but mostly he's down there with them practising his sets and serves and bickering blithely with Kyoutani (which is something they both enjoy immensely). 

At fourteen Kyoutani spikes Yahaba's toss for the first time and it feels amazing. He spikes many tosses after the first one too, and Yahaba finds he can always count on him to do so. Later in the year Yahaba helps him shave the black rings into his hair that become part of his trademark like his black eyeliner and both, Yahaba secretly thinks, are kind of hot. Yahaba introduces Kyoutani to his mother as 'my best friend’ and Kyoutani actually cries a little bit whilst Yahaba happily pulls him into a hug, whispering teasing words into his red ears. Kyoutani drags him to formally meet his mother and his dog, both of equal importance in Kyoutani’s mind, and he gets so happy when his golden retriever jumps up in Yahaba’s face and licks his nose, “He really likes you!” Kyoutani yells excitedly with an expression Yahaba rarely sees (and that makes his heart squeeze), “I don’t know why but he really likes you!”. Both of their mothers dote on them, and Kyoutani or Yahaba become an almost daily fixture at their dinner table (the days when they are not there, they're usually at the others house or they've been out playing volleyball so long they've missed it - they never really notice the time when they're together, too wrapped up in their banter or volleyball, so they only realise when one of their bellies gives a loud grumble that they were meant to be home for dinner two _hours_ ago).

At fifteen they enter Aoba Johsai together, and Yahaba is able to fend off most of the usual, unwelcome preconceptions about Kyoutani forming in the volleyball club when he throws a friendly arm around Kyoutani’s shoulders and is not thrown off like the club members had expected. They walk home together every night when they get the chance and practice volleyball together in one of their back gardens, or they stay behind at the gym. Yahaba finds that he is able to rile Kyoutani up, just as easily as he is able to calm him down, he’s quite proud of it until he finds out Kyoutani can do the exact same to him. They hold hands for the first time when they are fifteen, it begins with a deliberate brush of fingers from both sides, and then one of them leans over (Yahaba can’t remember who anymore, although he’ll continue to say it was Kyoutani in “his absolute desperation for my touch”) and tangles their fingers together, palms flat - Yahaba runs his thumb up over Kyoutani’s pulse point and feels it beating out of step, just like his own. When they’ve been holding hands on the way home for a few weeks straight, three little kids finally get the courage to come up to ask if they’re dating, Yahaba’s immediate answer is “yes” and soon the whole street knows, but Yahaba doesn’t care, he wants the whole world to know as he gleefully runs back home one day, swinging Kyoutani's hand with his own, when they reach Kyoutani's front step he turns, pulls him to him and presses his forehead to Kyoutani's and all he can do is smile huge, and bright in their own little world. (Kyoutani's smile is smaller, but it is charged with the same strong emotion they haven't yet put a name to).

At sixteen they share their first kiss when Yahaba anxiously blurts out, “Can I kiss you?”. And Kyoutani charges forward instead and smashes their lips together in a clumsy, awkward mess. Yahaba gets a cut lip and Kyoutani apologises profusely, a flaming blush high on his cheeks. Yahaba only laughs, then tugs him down by the collar and presses a soft kiss to his lips to shut him up - it works too well and Kyoutani is in a daze the whole walk home. Later, when they try again Kyoutani gently holds his jaw and rubs his cheek in such a way that has Yahaba’s heart stuttering out of time for many minutes after they'd seperated. They add tongue on their fifth kiss and they are both terrible, Kyoutani accidentally bites him and Yahaba pinches his cheek in retaliation but they get better in time, and they have plenty of time. They still walk home together holding hands, and they also take walks to the park with Kyoutani’s golden retriever where they watch the sunsets and stars rise, and Kyoutani kisses him all over his face at the end of it and it’s all sickeningly romantic and gross but Yahaba decides that he likes it. He likes it a lot. They tell each other that they love each other on a pale summers morning, Kyoutani cries again but this time Yahaba is crying too - it’s all disgustingly, horribly sweet but they both like it too much to care. 

At seventeen people still mistake Kyoutani for a delinquent, but he finds he doesn’t mind (although Yahaba still does) as the people that matter know he isn’t one. At 17, Yahaba rubs his tired eyes and looks over at a drooling, sleeping Kyoutani, dressed in his paw print pyjamas with a hand on Yahaba’s hip, and the other on his golden retriever's head and he wonders how anyone could mistake him for anything but the giant nerd that he is. (And that Yahaba loves). 

He slaps Kyoutani’s ass as lovingly as a buttslap can be, “Come on,’ he says when Kyoutani's eyes flutter open sleepily, “We’ve got a volleyball game to win.”

'Mmm,’ Kyoutani grumbles, he slides his warm hand up Yahaba’s neck and wrenches him down for a kiss. 

\- Fin

**Author's Note:**

> (pls imagine a young kyoutani listening to 'lost boy' by ruth b and 'take me home' by jess glynne and cry with me. Thank).
> 
> This is super short and kinda terrible lmao but I recently got super into kyouhaba and felt like writing something, so here it is. I wrote pretty much all of this on my phone so I apologise for any mistakes (I have since edited it a load on my laptop and I think I got them all?). The ending got super cheesy, but do I care? Not really, cause I'm here for the cheese. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! Have a beautiful day. Comments and kudos are always appreciated! (edit: thank you guys so much for all of the kudos!! and the hits!! i'm very happy, thank you. Edit: and the comments!! You all make me so happy, thank you :'))
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! You can find me at: sakuragimichi.tumblr.com


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